Dame Juliana Berners, in her Booke of St. Albans, says, in designating companies we must not use the names of multitudes promiscuously, and examples her remark thus:

1

We say a congregacyon of people, a hoost of men, a felyshyppynge of jomen, and a bevy of ladyes; we must speak of a herde of dere, swannys, cranys, or wrenys, a sege of herons or bytourys, a muster of pecockes, a watche of Byghtyngales, a filyghte of doves, a claterynge of choughes, a pryde of lyons, a slewthe of beeres, a gagle of geys, a skulke of foxes, a sculle of frerys; a pontificatye of prestys, and a superfluyte of nonnes.Booke of St. Albans (1486).

She adds, that a strict regard to these niceties better distinguishes gentylmen from ungentylmen, than regard to the rules of grammar, or even to the moral law. (See NUMBERS.)